Quantitative light-induced fluorescence: a potential tool for general dental assessment

Area of Science:

• Dentistry
• Biophotonics
• Biomaterials

Background:

• Current dental diagnostics detect caries but lack mineral status quantification.
• Quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF) offers a method to assess enamel demineralization and remineralization.
• QLF measures fluorescence changes related to mineral loss in dental enamel.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate QLF's ability to detect and quantify early caries lesions.
• To monitor the progression and remineralization of caries-like lesions using QLF.
• To assess QLF's efficacy in quantifying tooth whitening by measuring changes in stain intensity.

Main Methods:

• QLF was used to monitor the development and remineralization of artificial caries lesions in enamel.
• The percentage of fluorescence change (Delta Q) was correlated with demineralization and remineralization times.
• QLF was employed to quantify the change in stain intensity (Delta E) of teeth treated with bleaching agents.

Main Results:

• Delta Q showed a linear increase with demineralization time and a linear decrease with remineralization time.
• Delta E decreased linearly as teeth regained their natural color after whitening.
• Factors influencing QLF detection, such as saliva, plaque, and staining, were examined.

Conclusions:

• QLF is effective for detecting and longitudinally monitoring incipient caries and remineralization.
• QLF can quantitatively measure the shade changes resulting from tooth whitening procedures.
• Lesion detection by QLF may be hindered by saliva/plaque but improved by staining.